Before too much time passes, he sends a private SoundCloud link and says to call him back once I\u2019ve listened. And so begins a day of texting and talking between myself and Iss 814, Dakar’s prolific contemporary music producer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gu\u00e9diawaye is an oceanside suburb of Dakar where Iss was born and lives today. He estimates that over 5,000 of Dakar\u2019s people are rappers. \u201cAnd I supply all the beats,\u201d he says. The 30-year-old producer has made records for Dip Doundou Guiss, Akhlou Brick, Samba Peuzzi, Fou Malade, Keur Gui, and more. He credits a public arts space called G Hip Hop as a hotbed for collaboration that attracts both musicians and music lovers. \u201cBut it\u2019s not hip hop alone,” he notes. “Youssou N\u2019Dour is one of the greatest artists in the world and is from here. He makes mbalax music, not hip hop. That\u2019s the music I grew up on, and it\u2019s wild \u2013 very rhythmic with heavy percussion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not surprising that Dakar Trap comes from someone born when mbalax was the most beloved form of music, but Iss came of age in the 90s, when a mass cultural diffusion was happening around the world and especially in Dakar: the internet was turned on in Senegal in March of 1996 and hip hop gained prominence shortly thereafter with acts like Positive Black Soul, MC Solaar, Akon, and Rap\u2019Adio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the same decade the internet turned on, popular music changed from mbalax to hip hop and Iss was in his late teens listening to it all shift, meld, and fuse. His deference to traditional musicians is touching; \u201cThe energy that they\u2019ve got \u2013 nobody has it, I swear to God,” he remarks. “70 years old and they play music like no one else. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He identifies access to traditional musicians and recordings as one of the biggest opportunities and differentiators of Senegalese and West African music as a whole. \u201cIt\u2019s not about money here. It\u2019s about being inspired and bringing West Africa to the world. If you listen to the music from Ghana, Nigeria, it\u2019s all the same. Colonization divided us, but we are all one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iss cites one of the biggest problems facing Senegal\u2019s musicians as a lack of an industry, or a lack of ways to sell and monetize one\u2019s music. But as musics of the West African diaspora continue to rise in popularity, he feels hopeful. \u201cThe western music scene is full. We need to develop our own styles and spread that sound. If we want to go global, we need to develop our own sound with the same quality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iss 814\u2019s sample pack is called “Dakar Trap,”<\/a> and is a part of “Splice Sessions: Senegal.” \u201cI’m doing it for Senegal, for West Africa, Guediawaye, for the world,” he says. “It\u2019s big. I want to inspire the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Incorporate the sonic building blocks of Dakar Trap into your own productions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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